Malin’s #CBR5 Review #141: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

In the city state of Camorr, a small group known as the Gentlemen Bastards work and plot and scheme to lure the valuables from gullible nobles. Their cons are always elaborate and intricate, and done in such a way that their victims are too embarrassed to tell anyone about it. Yet most of their peers in the criminal underworld of Camorr believe the Bastards to be petty thieves and pickpockets, nothing remarkable, but loyal and dependable in a fight.

Unfortunately for Locke Lamora, the leader of the little band, and his friends, their current victims start being suspicious of some of the stories they are told, and soon, the head of the secret police is preparing to finally catch the legendary bandit. As if that wasn’t bad enough, someone else has discovered that Locke and his Gentlemen are much more successful criminals than they let on, and use this information to force Locke to help with an attempted power play against the current crime lord of Camorr, Capa Barsavi.

Full review.

Malin’s #CBR5 Review #123: The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

This is the third and final book in the Fire and Thorns trilogy, and as such, it’s not where you want to start reading the series. The first book, The Girl of Fire and Thorns is the place to begin. This review will inevitably contain spoilers for the previous two books in the series, and will also, in part, be my review of the series as a whole.

The Bitter Kingdom starts where The Crown of Embers ended, with young queen regent Elisa’s kingdom on the brink of civil war, and her Captain of the Guard (and the man she’d finally admitted that she loved and decided to marry) taken hostage by soldiers from neighbouring Invierno, who want the Godstone in her belly and are using Hector as bait to get her to follow them into their country. Accompanied by only a former freedom fighter/assassin, her lady in waiting and a failed Invierno sorcerer, Elisa needs to catch up with the soldiers, rescue Hector, figure out what is actually going on with the Invierno sorcerers, and find a way to defeat the rebellious nobles who are trying to destabilise her country and usurp her throne.

Full review on my blog.

Ashlie’s #CBR5 Review #6: A Clash of Kings by George R. R. Martin

The second in George R.R. Martin’s series, it is as good as the first and makes you eager for the third. I don’t even begin to know how to summarize something this winding, complex, and epic with countless characters. War is rampant in the Seven Kingdoms: King against King, and winter is coming.

I’m hesitant to say anything else because the less you know before you read it, the better the journey. A journey of bravery, glory, coming of age, betrayal, triumph, grief, love, hate, passion, family, and battle. If you haven’t read the books or seen the series, what are you waiting for?